Oh My God, shoes

(Editor’s note: Here’s a brief essay published last September by current Niagara County Legislature Candidate Matt Chavez who was working for NORLIC and running for office as a Democrat against Republican incumbent . The sign on the pillar in the third photo reads “Brazil, Honduras, South Americas.”)

By Matthew Chavez

Oh my God, shoes.

60,000 of them. Piled floor to ceiling in the old Jenss Department Store on Main Street in Niagara Falls. For over a decade, this was the scene: mountains of unsold Cave of the Winds sandals, abandoned by capital venture firms locking out the nonprofits doing work spreading these sandals to third world countries.

And let’s be clear- at this point these weren’t usable shoes. They were covered in mold, raccoon poop, and years of decay. They were long past their life cycle, and couldn’t even be recycled as material. They weren’t shoes anymore- they were a symbol of what was holding this building, and this corridor, hostage.

This is what revitalization looks like in real life. It’s not just fixing broken roofs or clearing back taxes. It’s not just writing grants or drawing up plans. Sometimes, the barrier to redevelopment is something absurd- like 60,000 ruined sandals taking up an entire building.

But here’s the truth: absurd doesn’t mean impossible. We handled it. Every bag, every pair, gone. The building is now clear for the first time in years, ready for new stories to be written.

That’s the heart of Main Street work. Clearing away the absurd, the forgotten, the decayed, so hope can breathe again.

So if your own situation feels ridiculous, hopeless, or stuck, take this as a reminder: ours was absurd too. And we handled it. Renewal is possible.